Random notes on our experience with THREE rescued miniature dachshunds

Jasmine went in for her annual vet checkup yesterday. Hubby took her over to the clinic (which just so happens to be across the highway from our house) to get poked, prodded and jabbed. 😦

Apparently, Jasmine has become a braver soul. She tolerated other dogs in the waiting room. The vet noted that she was significantly less freaked out during this visit than a prior checkup. Yay Jasmine!

She got all of her shots (who knew there were so many of them?), a blood test, a fecal test (ick), and was weighed in. Unfortunately, Jasmine is now up over 12 pounds. While the vet said that she was still within a normal weight range, I think a little less kibble (or treats) might be in order!

However, Jasmine is going to need to have her teeth cleaned. That means she has to be put under anesthesia. I’m not thrilled about this.

And her nails are super long. I can’t seem to clip her nails without her squirming (and I’d hate to cause her harm or pain). Even though the vet clipped them, they’re still long. I’m thinking about having the vet clip her nails very short when she’s under for the cleaning to help us get a head-start on keeping them short.

Does anyone have any words of advice on how I can get a dog who hates having her paws handled to submit and stay still for nail clippings?

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Well, it’s been 48 hours since Jasmine started treatment for the Whipworms. She’s making good progress, but she did get up in the middle of the night last night to go, and she had another bout of diarrhea this morning. I called the vet and he wants me to stay the course and see if she improves…I’m hoping for the best.

I did notice, however, that Jasmine is improving on other fronts. Her energy level and playfulness are significantly better. I gave Jasmine a bath this morning, and afterwards, she jumped around the house and began playing with her Screaming Monkey. She also ran around the house a few times and has generally been a happy, bouncy, Tigger-like dog this morning.

The Screaming Monkey is her favorite toy these days. I was cleaning the other day and I dropped the monkey on the floor. Jasmine came running to check out the screaming, and immediately picked up the monkey and ran away. She now loves to chew on it. I thought I’d share a little of her play with you.

(Keep your volume down on your PC…the screaming is LOUD!)

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Jasmine’s real “inner dog” is starting to come out. When we first adopted her, we were told that the dog we were taking home was not the dog we would eventually get. Well, that’s starting to really be true. Jasmine is starting to let her personality show…including that cute little doxie spirit.

Sunday morning, Jasmine crawled into my lap for the first time. I was sitting on the rug on the kitchen floor giving her some pets and a bit of cheese, and she just up and crawled on. In the past, I’ve placed her onto my lap so she could get treatment for her ears (placing in ear drops), but on Sunday, she just wanted to snuggle. It made me so happy that she loves and trusts me enough to do that. This morning, she did the same thing, but only after doing a happy dance for me after I came into the kitchen. Wagging tail, smiling face, perky ears. Oh what a way to start the day!

Part of her coming out of her shell is the fact that the things we counted on (housebreaking, for one) are not assured. She was on her “best behavior” before, and we now have to start some training and socializing over. We are now vigilant about house training…no unsupervised moments for her. But since we’ve started watching her like a hawk, we haven’t had an accident. We need to figure out how to teach her to signal us when she needs to go, but we’ll give it time.

This week has been full of activity. We went to the vet one more time on Thursday. Jasmine’s ears are clear of infection, and the vet now thinks that Jasmine’s recurring abscesses are due to a cyst in her paw. The abscesses are not harmful unless they don’t clear up on her own or her paw becomes tender/infected. So, we’ll just have to put up with the paw and monitor if the swelling becomes painful or doesn’t heal. The good news is that the abscesses don’t seem to slow our little girl down. She’s now starting to run with us during our daily walks. There’s nothing cuter than seeing a dachshund run! After the vet, I took Jasmine to the Five Paw Bakery in Los Altos. We got some yummy dog cookies (complements of the owner) and a dog harness.

Saturday afternoon, we took Jasmine to her second obedience class. The regular instructor was there this time, and we voiced our concerns to her about the first class. She was MUCH better than the substitute instructor, so I had a better feeling about the whole thing. We also had a lot more personal attention–everyone did. Jasmine is now great at “sit,” but still needs work on “watch me” and “stand.” This week’s commands are hard ones–“stay” and “down.” “Down” is particularly hard to teach dachshunds since they’re so low to the ground as it is…we’ll see.

After class, we took Jasmine to a cocktail party! I was a bit reluctant to take her, but I thought it would be a good socialization experience for her. I had made some poached chicken as a “high value” treat for training, and we took that with us. Well, the chicken was her “ice breaker.” Everyone she came into contact with gave her chicken, and she did SO well. She took food from everyone. What a long way she has come since our first day home. I’m so proud of her!

Flush her ears with an anti-fungal every two to three days (um, not easy to say the least)

Put COLD drops in her ears twice a day (not easy either…who likes cold drops in their ears?)

What amazes me is that Jasmine allows me to do what needs to be done (okay, sometimes there’s a struggle, but we’re past that). With a trusting soul and a few shivers and shakes, she gets through each procedure. She then allows me to pet her…all is forgiven. The trust she has for me…well, I’m really amazed. I know she doesn’t like the procedures, but she continues to submit to them and still like me afterwards. Good doggie.

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Yes, Jasmine had to go back to the vet again yesterday. Her left paw, which had been infected, has healed really beautifully. There’s no sign of infection at all. However, I noticed this morning that her right paw was all swollen! NOOOOOOOO! I also noticed a distinct musky/yeasty scent coming off of her that I remember from owning dogs in the past–that “ear infection” smell.

So, off to the vet we went. I really like my vet–Dr. Kirsten Krick at the West Valley Pet Clinic. She’s very gentle with Jasmine, and she seems to do what is in the best interest of the dog while taking cost and impact on the dog’s well being into account.

This time, there wasn’t an infection in the paw. Jasmine apparently was the unfortunate recipient of some kind of insect bite or sting. I had a feeling…there have been lots of bees and wasps in the yard, and they’ve also been hovering amongst the clover in the lawn. I think Jasmine might have stepped on one. Jasmine was treated for both the sting and the ear issues (yeast infection in the ear). She has to go back for a check in a week.

While I really like the vet, I wish we wouldn’t have to go so often!

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So, after another expensive trip to the vet ($162), Jasmine is now on a month’s course of antibiotics. Instead of the liquid, the vet recommended we try pills (Jasmine was, um, unreliable with the liquid due to the “spit” factor). I tried the “put it in the back of the tongue and rub the throat” trick that used to work with some of the dogs I had in the past. Nope. Cough. Cough. Spit. Out came the pill. *sigh*

Next up was cheese. Since Jasmine’s favorite cheese (no, she is not a gourmet dog and likes plain old Kraft American cheese) only comes in sheets, I decided to try some string cheese. Bingo! I cut a small hunk off the end, opened a hole in it with my knife, placed the pill in the pocket and mushed up the cheese to completely encase the pill. Gobble. All gone. It worked again this morning.

This is much better than having to wedge her mouth open and squirt vile-tasting liquid into her mouth.

The problem is that TWO vets went probing into her paw again yesterday (she was sedated), and again, they weren’t able to find the foreign body that’s in her paw. It’s frustrating. There must be something in there to make her paw swollen and puss-filled. For now, I’ll keep the compresses going and hope for the best.

The good news is that Jasmie is finally putting on a little weight. She’s now a little over 10 pounds, and her coat is getting softer every day.

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So, Jasmine’s infected paw was looking great–until a couple of days ago. It’s back to being swollen and red. I’m so bummed. I’ve been feeding her the antibiotics twice a day and using a warm compress to help promote healing as the vet ordered. It was getting better–no redness and swelling, and all of a sudden…poof. 😦 I’m calling the vet first thing tomorrow (Monday) and taking her in. I have a feeling that whatever was in there is still there and is causing the infection to live on.

The good news is that I’m MUCH better at administering the antibiotics. There’s still some struggle, but cheese makes it all better! 🙂

Oh, and on a random note, Jasmine was sleeping on her pillow next to the couch last night. Her tongue was sticking out, and she was snoring. It was just the cutest thing. I couldn’t move and not disturb her, so I didn’t get a picture. That’ll teach me to put the camera across the room!

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I noticed Jasmine licking her paw this afternoon, and after I took a close look, I noticed a sore on the top. I took a tissue and wiped it off and noticed it was very swollen and oozing. Ick. I called the Vet and took Jasmine in. Apparently, something had worked its way into her paw and had infected a vein all the way down to her pads. Owie! We called Jasmine “pointer dog” because she was constantly lifting her left paw. We never saw anything wrong before today…and now we realize that she may have had a foxtail embedded in her paw since we got her. Luckily, we got to it before the infection became too serious. She’s now on antibiotics (which was a real struggle to feed her). Now, we just need to figure out how to keep her from licking and chewing it. At least she can still go on walkies!